sunday_reveries prompts for 1/9-1/23 [quote prompt #6]
6. "We all do things we desperately wish we could undo. Those regrets just become part of who we are, along with everything else. To spend time trying to change that, well, it's like chasing clouds." -- Libba Bray
Claire didn’t know if it was from being tired or not, but had taken her hours to come up with some sort of plan or idea on how to lure Matt to meet her. Nothing she thought up seemed like a legitimate reason to drag him in and put him danger because it would certainly be there. Even if Samuel had promised not to interfere, there was still Sylar. She could only hope he would be too disorientated to attack Matt after getting his mental capacity back and that it would give the cop enough time to run away. After that, maybe she could convince Sylar to leave Matt alone. She could only hope.
Sitting on the bench near the Ferris wheel, she looked at her phone quietly as she studied the number Matt had given her a long time ago. Pressing the call button, she held the phone to her ear and waited with her heart in her throat. As soon as he answered, she swallowed thickly before responding. “Matt? It’s Claire. Claire Bennet.”
"Claire?"
There was an almost amused note in Matt's tone at the mention of her name -- probably because it wasn't really Matt talking. Sylar had become aware that he was sharing headspace with the cop some time ago, and just recently, he'd figured out how to snatch control away from him. How to use his body to his own ends. And while the killer didn't relish the idea of wearing Matt's fatsuit, it was better than being without his body, and this? This phone call made it all worth it, somehow.
Grinning wolfishly, he shot the phantom of the cop that was still hanging around -- and shouting futilely at Claire to hang up -- and cleared his throat, before trying to imitate his headmate as best he could. "Yeah, hey. Sorry, I didn't recognize the phone number." A beat. "What's up?"
The almost amused tone caused her to pause for a moment because that was a reaction she hadn't been expecting. Rushed, worried or maybe disapproving? Yes. But not almost amused. Maybe he didn't know about what had happened? Maybe her father had never called him to let him know that she somehow knew about Nathan and that she had disappeared. She could only hope that was the case because then it would make it easier to convince him to come and see her.
"I ... I need your help with something." It wasn't a lie, she did. "Would you be able to come and see me?"
"Uh ... " He thought about that for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he really wanted to drop by to see Claire. On one hand, it would be a hell of a thing, watching her face fall when she realized someone else was wearing her friend's face; on the other, he really needed to find his body, and Matt hadn't exactly been forthcoming as to where it was. "I'm, uh, kinda busy, actually. I guess it depends on what it is."
There was a little bit of hesitation on her end because she had been sure he would say something similar to this but she didn't know what to say in response. "I ... "
She paused for a moment longer, tucking some hair back from her face. In the background, one could hear music, bells and people running around. "There's a problem, a situation I'm in, and I need someone with your ability." Should she tell him that she knew about what he had done and that she had Sylar? No, she didn't think he would come then.
" ... where are you?" The sounds on the other side of the phone, faint but audible, had caught his attention more than her plea had.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she commented wryly, looking around.
Matt Parkman had stolen his body and made him a prisoner in his head; he was fairly sure he'd believe anything at this point. "Try me."
Another long pause before she finally answered. "A carnival."
His interest died sharply, and he made no effort to keep that from his tone. "You need my help at a carnival?"
She sighed softly, lifting a hand to rub her forehead as she nodded her head even though he couldn't see it. "Yes, I've been staying here for awhile. There's someone who has a problem and I need someone with telepathic abilities to help him."
"Anyone we know?" He shot a glance at Matt who had been idling by the door, hurling insults at him, only to go suddenly silent. The look on the cop's face, however quickly he squashed it, seemed to suggest he knew who Claire was talking about -- or at least had a damn good idea -- and Sylar turned back to the phone, leaning into it, suddenly hanging on her every word again.
He had the sudden sneaking suspicion that this had something to do with the frantic phone call Matt had gotten the other day from Bennet about Nathan Petrelli and where his body just might be.
"I don't know." There was a slight hesitation in her words because she had never been good at lying.
Sylar didn't need his ability to tell a lie from the truth to smell that one a mile away, and a bit sharply, he demanded, "You can tell me who it is. I'm not gonna tell your dad or whatever."
"Why not? You've listened to him before." She said it a bit sharply before she thought about her response. Silently she cursed herself, taking in a small breath as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she murmured half-heartedly. "We've been calling him Nate."
She started, wetting her lips.
"Nate." Another glance at Matt more or less confirmed what Claire wasn't telling him, and he grinned into the receiver, letting the act fall away. "You have my body."
She stopped dead as the words rang in her ear and echoed through her mind. It wasn't what he had said but the way he had said it and she felt her blood run cold as she swallowed thickly. "Sylar," she replied, clenching her jaw.
He huffed out a sigh of a laugh; Matt went back to hurling insults. "Hello, Claire. Long time, no talk. I'd ask if you were keeping out of trouble, but well, it sounds like you're not. Typical."
She pursed her lips as she lifted her chin slightly, pushing her shoulders back. "Well, I'm doing better than you, aren't I?"
"Maybe right now. Do you have any idea how hard it is to listen to Police Chief Flubber whine about how I should give him his body back all day?" He paused, stretching out on the couch where he sat, somehow able to tune the cop out completely despite what he had said about having to listen to him, nonstop. "Which, speaking of, why don't you tell me where you are. I'm sure both of us would love to go back to our regularly scheduled programming. What little of it Parkman will have left when I get done with him, anyway."
"No," she replied firmly, shaking her head. "If you're going to kill Matt, I'm not telling you where we are. You can forget it."
He grit his teeth. "I'll find you even if you don't tell me, Claire."
"Good luck on that, Sylar. The people I'm with, you couldn't find us without a certain key part." She chuckled a little bit, hearing the frustration in his tone. "Guess you're stuck." She shrugged nonchalantly.
"Tell me," he hissed, "or I swear I'll kill the little wife and the kid and make Parkman watch."
"I'll tell you if you promise me that you'll leave all of them alone, even Matt." She hissed back. "I'll tell you right where we are and I'll lead you right to your damn body."
"I promise." He was lying, but hell if he'd tell her that if she didn't call him on it.
"Don't lie to me," she commented dryly, able to tell he was lying without the ability he had. It's not like she believed he would keep a promise but she was hoping that his desire to get his body back would override his usual behavior.
"He did this to me," Sylar shot back, trying to keep the anger out of his tone. "Him, and probably your father and Mommy Petrelli. This -- this hell is worth me killing him. He deserves it. Tell me he doesn't."
"And I can get you out of it, Sylar. I can give you your body back and everything but you need to do this for me." She kept her voice even. "He didn't really have much of a choice in this and I can bet he regrets it. That might mean nothing to you but it means something to me. I'm tired of people I know dying and I want this to end. And yes, that means even helping you because what they did wasn't fair. I get that."
He was silent for a moment, tonguing at his lips -- Matt's lips -- thoughtfully as he turned it over in his head. When he realized what he was doing, he stopped abruptly and made a face, and then he was sighing into the phone. He wanted Matt dead, and he'd find a way to get it done, but it wasn't going to come by his hand, apparently. Not if he wanted his body back, and God, he had never wanted anything more.
"Fine."
She still didn't know if she believed him or not but she had to take a chance. She knew Samuel would lure Sylar there anyhow, he was desperate for the serial killer to have his body back after all and so she would have to take a chance.
"Okay." She nodded her head. "I'll tell you where I am and I'll show you to your body."
Leaning over, he snagged a pen and a notepad off of the table next to the couch, grateful for once that Matt was domestic enough to have something he could write on just laying around. "Any time now, Claire."
"Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington." She bit her bottom lip.
He scribbled that down hastily, making a mental note to Mapquest it as soon as he got off of the phone, and dumped the pad in his lap, grinning. "Is there a time limit on this? Or can you keep my body busy for a couple of days?"
"Your body is fine." She rolled her eyes. "He's kind of ... active." She wasn't sure if that made sense but that was the best way she could explain it.
"Active," he repeated, arching his eyebrows. He decided after a moment that he didn't want to know. "Whatever. Just keep him there. You'll be seeing me soon."
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him," she replied before nodding her head. "Fine, call this number when you're close."
"See you soon, Claire." Then, without warning, he was snapping the cell phone closed.
She didn't bother saying goodbye because there was no point, he was gone before she could even think of it and she closed the phone with a sigh. Tucking it away, she looked over the scene that went on around her but she felt strangely removed from it. She also felt colder than she had ever felt before. Sylar was on his way and soon he would have his body back. Nate would be gone and the monster back in its place. Looking up, she saw Samuel standing across the way from her and by the way he silently arched a brow at her, she knew he was questioning if she had done what she said she would do. Nodding her head slowly, she let him know that she had before she pushed herself to her feet and walked away. She would find Nate and spend time with him for a little while before she would destroy him too.
Maybe Sylar was right in what he had said before, maybe she really was like him.
[Cowritten with heroslayer. <3]
Claire didn’t know if it was from being tired or not, but had taken her hours to come up with some sort of plan or idea on how to lure Matt to meet her. Nothing she thought up seemed like a legitimate reason to drag him in and put him danger because it would certainly be there. Even if Samuel had promised not to interfere, there was still Sylar. She could only hope he would be too disorientated to attack Matt after getting his mental capacity back and that it would give the cop enough time to run away. After that, maybe she could convince Sylar to leave Matt alone. She could only hope.
Sitting on the bench near the Ferris wheel, she looked at her phone quietly as she studied the number Matt had given her a long time ago. Pressing the call button, she held the phone to her ear and waited with her heart in her throat. As soon as he answered, she swallowed thickly before responding. “Matt? It’s Claire. Claire Bennet.”
"Claire?"
There was an almost amused note in Matt's tone at the mention of her name -- probably because it wasn't really Matt talking. Sylar had become aware that he was sharing headspace with the cop some time ago, and just recently, he'd figured out how to snatch control away from him. How to use his body to his own ends. And while the killer didn't relish the idea of wearing Matt's fatsuit, it was better than being without his body, and this? This phone call made it all worth it, somehow.
Grinning wolfishly, he shot the phantom of the cop that was still hanging around -- and shouting futilely at Claire to hang up -- and cleared his throat, before trying to imitate his headmate as best he could. "Yeah, hey. Sorry, I didn't recognize the phone number." A beat. "What's up?"
The almost amused tone caused her to pause for a moment because that was a reaction she hadn't been expecting. Rushed, worried or maybe disapproving? Yes. But not almost amused. Maybe he didn't know about what had happened? Maybe her father had never called him to let him know that she somehow knew about Nathan and that she had disappeared. She could only hope that was the case because then it would make it easier to convince him to come and see her.
"I ... I need your help with something." It wasn't a lie, she did. "Would you be able to come and see me?"
"Uh ... " He thought about that for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he really wanted to drop by to see Claire. On one hand, it would be a hell of a thing, watching her face fall when she realized someone else was wearing her friend's face; on the other, he really needed to find his body, and Matt hadn't exactly been forthcoming as to where it was. "I'm, uh, kinda busy, actually. I guess it depends on what it is."
There was a little bit of hesitation on her end because she had been sure he would say something similar to this but she didn't know what to say in response. "I ... "
She paused for a moment longer, tucking some hair back from her face. In the background, one could hear music, bells and people running around. "There's a problem, a situation I'm in, and I need someone with your ability." Should she tell him that she knew about what he had done and that she had Sylar? No, she didn't think he would come then.
" ... where are you?" The sounds on the other side of the phone, faint but audible, had caught his attention more than her plea had.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she commented wryly, looking around.
Matt Parkman had stolen his body and made him a prisoner in his head; he was fairly sure he'd believe anything at this point. "Try me."
Another long pause before she finally answered. "A carnival."
His interest died sharply, and he made no effort to keep that from his tone. "You need my help at a carnival?"
She sighed softly, lifting a hand to rub her forehead as she nodded her head even though he couldn't see it. "Yes, I've been staying here for awhile. There's someone who has a problem and I need someone with telepathic abilities to help him."
"Anyone we know?" He shot a glance at Matt who had been idling by the door, hurling insults at him, only to go suddenly silent. The look on the cop's face, however quickly he squashed it, seemed to suggest he knew who Claire was talking about -- or at least had a damn good idea -- and Sylar turned back to the phone, leaning into it, suddenly hanging on her every word again.
He had the sudden sneaking suspicion that this had something to do with the frantic phone call Matt had gotten the other day from Bennet about Nathan Petrelli and where his body just might be.
"I don't know." There was a slight hesitation in her words because she had never been good at lying.
Sylar didn't need his ability to tell a lie from the truth to smell that one a mile away, and a bit sharply, he demanded, "You can tell me who it is. I'm not gonna tell your dad or whatever."
"Why not? You've listened to him before." She said it a bit sharply before she thought about her response. Silently she cursed herself, taking in a small breath as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she murmured half-heartedly. "We've been calling him Nate."
She started, wetting her lips.
"Nate." Another glance at Matt more or less confirmed what Claire wasn't telling him, and he grinned into the receiver, letting the act fall away. "You have my body."
She stopped dead as the words rang in her ear and echoed through her mind. It wasn't what he had said but the way he had said it and she felt her blood run cold as she swallowed thickly. "Sylar," she replied, clenching her jaw.
He huffed out a sigh of a laugh; Matt went back to hurling insults. "Hello, Claire. Long time, no talk. I'd ask if you were keeping out of trouble, but well, it sounds like you're not. Typical."
She pursed her lips as she lifted her chin slightly, pushing her shoulders back. "Well, I'm doing better than you, aren't I?"
"Maybe right now. Do you have any idea how hard it is to listen to Police Chief Flubber whine about how I should give him his body back all day?" He paused, stretching out on the couch where he sat, somehow able to tune the cop out completely despite what he had said about having to listen to him, nonstop. "Which, speaking of, why don't you tell me where you are. I'm sure both of us would love to go back to our regularly scheduled programming. What little of it Parkman will have left when I get done with him, anyway."
"No," she replied firmly, shaking her head. "If you're going to kill Matt, I'm not telling you where we are. You can forget it."
He grit his teeth. "I'll find you even if you don't tell me, Claire."
"Good luck on that, Sylar. The people I'm with, you couldn't find us without a certain key part." She chuckled a little bit, hearing the frustration in his tone. "Guess you're stuck." She shrugged nonchalantly.
"Tell me," he hissed, "or I swear I'll kill the little wife and the kid and make Parkman watch."
"I'll tell you if you promise me that you'll leave all of them alone, even Matt." She hissed back. "I'll tell you right where we are and I'll lead you right to your damn body."
"I promise." He was lying, but hell if he'd tell her that if she didn't call him on it.
"Don't lie to me," she commented dryly, able to tell he was lying without the ability he had. It's not like she believed he would keep a promise but she was hoping that his desire to get his body back would override his usual behavior.
"He did this to me," Sylar shot back, trying to keep the anger out of his tone. "Him, and probably your father and Mommy Petrelli. This -- this hell is worth me killing him. He deserves it. Tell me he doesn't."
"And I can get you out of it, Sylar. I can give you your body back and everything but you need to do this for me." She kept her voice even. "He didn't really have much of a choice in this and I can bet he regrets it. That might mean nothing to you but it means something to me. I'm tired of people I know dying and I want this to end. And yes, that means even helping you because what they did wasn't fair. I get that."
He was silent for a moment, tonguing at his lips -- Matt's lips -- thoughtfully as he turned it over in his head. When he realized what he was doing, he stopped abruptly and made a face, and then he was sighing into the phone. He wanted Matt dead, and he'd find a way to get it done, but it wasn't going to come by his hand, apparently. Not if he wanted his body back, and God, he had never wanted anything more.
"Fine."
She still didn't know if she believed him or not but she had to take a chance. She knew Samuel would lure Sylar there anyhow, he was desperate for the serial killer to have his body back after all and so she would have to take a chance.
"Okay." She nodded her head. "I'll tell you where I am and I'll show you to your body."
Leaning over, he snagged a pen and a notepad off of the table next to the couch, grateful for once that Matt was domestic enough to have something he could write on just laying around. "Any time now, Claire."
"Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington." She bit her bottom lip.
He scribbled that down hastily, making a mental note to Mapquest it as soon as he got off of the phone, and dumped the pad in his lap, grinning. "Is there a time limit on this? Or can you keep my body busy for a couple of days?"
"Your body is fine." She rolled her eyes. "He's kind of ... active." She wasn't sure if that made sense but that was the best way she could explain it.
"Active," he repeated, arching his eyebrows. He decided after a moment that he didn't want to know. "Whatever. Just keep him there. You'll be seeing me soon."
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him," she replied before nodding her head. "Fine, call this number when you're close."
"See you soon, Claire." Then, without warning, he was snapping the cell phone closed.
She didn't bother saying goodbye because there was no point, he was gone before she could even think of it and she closed the phone with a sigh. Tucking it away, she looked over the scene that went on around her but she felt strangely removed from it. She also felt colder than she had ever felt before. Sylar was on his way and soon he would have his body back. Nate would be gone and the monster back in its place. Looking up, she saw Samuel standing across the way from her and by the way he silently arched a brow at her, she knew he was questioning if she had done what she said she would do. Nodding her head slowly, she let him know that she had before she pushed herself to her feet and walked away. She would find Nate and spend time with him for a little while before she would destroy him too.
Maybe Sylar was right in what he had said before, maybe she really was like him.
[Cowritten with heroslayer. <3]